<i> A look at noteworthy addresses in the Southland.</i>

Northern Ireland: Not a Religious War “There is a myth going around that it is a religious war in Northern Ireland and somehow if those Catholics and Protestants would get their act together, as the Americans say, all would be well. I would like to say that it is not a religious war. . . . The root cause of the problem . . . is social, cultural, historical. We have two different traditions, two cultures. . . .

“What is happening in Northern Ireland is not unique; it’s a microcosm of what’s happening all around our world today. In the north of Ireland, there was a civil rights movement (that) came onto the streets in Belfast, and they took inspiration from Martin Luther King and they called for merely basic civil liberties for the people there. They called for fair housing. They called for a political voice. They called for an end to discrimination. Because for 60 years in the north of Ireland, we had majority rule, which one person once described as ‘a Protestant parliament for a Protestant people.’ So for many years, the minority was discriminated against and there was grave injustice. And had those injustices been dealt with in time, it might well have been that we wouldn’t have to face 23 years of such sadness.

“So if we can say anything to our brothers and sisters around the world--look at the root cause of violence. Don’t try to scapegoat a few young people who go out and riot.” Collapsing American Dream “America is at war at home. As communism is collapsing all around the world, the American dream is collapsing all around America for millions of families, youths and children. We are in danger of becoming two nations; one of First World privilege and another of Third World deprivation, while a beleaguered middle class barely holds on. . . .

“Tens of thousands of middle-class youths and young families with declining wages see the future as a choice between a house and a child. A lot of middle-class parents who cried when their children went off to college are also crying now that so many of our college graduates are moving back home after college because they can’t find a job.

“It is time for each of us today to help redefine success in 1990s America, asking not ‘How much can I get?’ but ‘How much can I do without and share?’ Asking not, ‘How can I find myself?’ but ‘How can I lose myself in service to others?’ ”

Looking Ahead * Today: Christie Hefner, chair and CEO, Playboy Enterprises Inc., will speak on “Global Marketing: The Obstacles and the Opportunities” at 12:40 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel. Sponsored by Town Hall. Call (213) 628-8141.

* Today: David P. Gardner, president of the University of California, will deliver the keynote address at Caltech’s 98th commencement at 10 a.m. on campus. Call (818) 356-6256

* Saturday: Michael Woo, Los Angeles City Council member, will speak at Cal State Los Angeles’ commencement at 9:45 a.m. Call (213) 343-3050.

* Sunday: Orlando Patterson, professor of sociology at Harvard University, will deliver the keynote address at UCLA’s Ph.D. hooding ceremony at 1 p.m. Patterson will receive the UCLA Medal. Call (310) 206-1458.

* Sunday: Maya Angelou, author, educator, and civil rights activist, will speak at Occidental College’s commencement at 5:30 p.m. Call (213) 259-2958.

* Sunday: Stephen Jay Gould, Harvard professor, best-selling author and founder of the evolutionary theory of punctuated equilibrium, will speak at UCLA’s College of Letters and Science commencement. Gould will receive the UCLA Medal. Call (310) 206-8788.

* Wednesday: Richard Breeden, chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission, will speak at 12:40 p.m. at the Sheraton Grande. Sponsored by Town Hall. Call (213) 628-8141

Announcements concerning prominent speakers in Los Angeles should be sent to Speaking Up, c/o Times researcher Michael Meyers, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053